It’s time for a confession: I am a terrible hoarder. There are so many awesome series being released these days and so I buy them, but because I don’t read very fast (and also read other things, go to work, have a life, etc.) things tend to pile up in a rather alarming way. My self-imposed rule about reviewing each volume separately wasn’t helping matters any, either.
Now that I have finally managed to convince myself that it isn’t “cheating” to review things en masse, I’m ready to tackle a few of the shorter but complete series that I have sitting around the place. Trouble is, they all look equally wonderful and I’m not sure where to start. I could use some marching orders.
Here’s where you come in. Every couple of weeks, I’ll post five options that I think I could be in the mood for. I’d love it if you’d chime in in support of your particular favorite, and maybe say a little bit about why you love it. Whichever option has the most supporters—or perhaps merely the most eloquent and persuasive ones!—will be what I undertake to read and review before my next post of this ilk.
So, here we go with this week’s options.
1. Parasyte — The eighth and final volume of this sci-fi series has just come out. They certainly look spiffy in my (not so) little pile!
2. Paradise Kiss — I know, I know. What kind of Ai Yazawa fan am I, anyway? I did read the first volume once a long time ago but inexplicably never continued.
3. Antique Bakery — And now I’m truly hanging my head in shame, because although I think I’m only missing one of Fumi Yoshinaga’s English releases, I’ve been woefully remiss on actually reading the durn things.
4. After School Nightmare — I had better read this soon or else I’ll end up getting spoiled!
5. Planetes — A sleeper hit about a team of space debris collectors that seems to offer a greater focus on the characters rather than traditional sci-fi trappings.
See what I mean about tough choices? Please ease my burden and give me some direction!
My vote: You need to read Paradise Kiss before Saturday. 😉
Seriously, though, it’s hard to choose! Selfishly I’m worried about you choosing After School Nightmare, because I only have the first two volumes. Heh. Actually I’d love to see Antique Bakery written up here! Maybe that’s my vote!
Heh. At the rate I read, finishing Paradise Kiss in one day is pretty unlikely, alas.
Thanks for the reply!
Antique Bakery: 1
I weep, I weep! 😉
I suggest Planetes mostly becuase it’s my favorite on the list. It’s a great piece of hard scifi with good characters.
Although other than After School Nightmare which I never read I have to say all the selections are quite good IMHO.
Planetes has been on my mind lately because one of the new series on Viz’s SIGIKKI site, Saturn Apartments (which I enjoyed a lot), keeps getting compared to it.
Thanks for your input. 🙂
I have to say Planetes as well. The best on the list you have, though Antique Bakery would be a very close second.
Planetes is one of those titles that every manga fan should read atleast once
Awesome, thanks! Looks like Planetes is pulling out into an early lead. 🙂
you have some great series listed here! Personally, I would read Paradise Kiss first, too, because it is wonderful from beginning to end. Wonderful art, great characters – just a great read.
Then I would read After School Nightmare, which is wonderful and weird, but I am still a little conflicted about the ending.
Parasyte would get the 3rd slot. I have 2 volumes unread, too, for the same reasons you do. I hoard and there is only so much time during the day. Plus, there is so much good stuff coming out and it all seems to arrive at the same time!!
Anyway, it’s not a bad problem to have 🙂
It’s a pretty wonderful problem to have, really. 🙂 If I could pick any one superpower, it’d be the ability to stop time just so I could catch up on everything I want to read and watch!
Thanks for weighing in. 🙂
You just need Hermione’s time turner, and you will be good to go!
Yeah, that would work!
Antique Bakery. Because I’m probably still *here* because I discovered very early that manga had creators such as Fumi Yoshinaga.
Would you have given up on the medium had you not discovered her?
Thanks for the reply. 🙂
Probably not, but it made me feel that there were books out there really JUST for me. It kind of made me more comfortable in my new “skin” as a manga fan.
I’d read the last volume of Parasyte first since it’s only a volume, then Paradise Kiss, After School Nightmare, Antique Bakery, and Planetes.
I’ve actually not read any of Parasyte, though it might look as if I have from the way I worded it. Sorry ’bout that.
Would that change your suggested order?
In that case, I’d start with Paradise Kiss, and put Parasyte last on the list.
Alrighty. Math geek that I am, I have actually started calculating the weighted average for each title. So far, Antique Bakery is ahead by a nose.
I’d go with Parasyte of Planetes, but that’s just me.
After School Nightmare, because once you read it the first time, you’ll be dying to start over again and see what you missed!
Man, these series are, like, neck and neck now! Ken’s vote nudges Planetes into the lead, but there’s a three-way tie for second!
I love me some Fumi Yoshinaga, and I love me some Ai Yazawa, but I’m with Ken: I want to see you tackle Planetes first, especially since you write such great reviews of character-driven series. Not that you could go wrong with any of these titles, mind you, but I think you have something new to add to the ongoing conversation about Planetes.
Thank you. 🙂
I’m for After School Nightmare. It hasn’t been reviewed much, and I really want to hear other opinions on this series (besides my own).
Thanks for the vote! I think I might actually end up reading several and/or most of these series in the near future, since there wasn’t any clear winner. Next time I’ll have to make sure to pad the list with a few clunkers to make it easier. 🙂
Or you could just read them in alphabetical order. The fact that you’ve bought all of these suggests that you plan to read them all eventually, so if we can’t cure you of your indecision, then that could be the tie-breaker. And while you’re at it, you can throw From Eroica With Love into the alphabetical order, because I love that more than anything on this list (I apologize to Planetes and Parasyte, to which I have not given the opportunity to win my love).
That’s an idea. And how’d you know I just so happen to own all of From Eroica with Love, too? 🙂 Actually, if it’s good, odds are I own it.
I can understand your indecision. Since Antique Bakery is the only series up there that I have read it its entirety, I would be a hypocrite if I recommended anything else. I’ve read part of ParaKiss and ASN, and nothing of Parasyte and Planetes.
Anyway, GAY OF DEMONIC CHARM!!! Do you need another reason to read Antique Bakery? Fine – it’s the shortest series you have up there, which means you can get to another one of those series up there sooner.
I will admit that I do dislike the sections in Antique Bakery that ramble on about food, but because dairy and eggs make me go ‘eww’, and that’s pretty much everything in Antique Bakery. If you eat dairy and egg products in your life, you shouldn’t find this a problem, and the fact that I love Antique Bakery in spite of this shows you just how great it is.
Hee! Thank you for this impassioned argument! You just bumped Antique Bakery up another notch!
I would go with Paradise Kiss, but thats just my opinion.
And your opinion is precisely what I want. Thank you!
I’m really jealous that you still get a first read-through on those, they’re all really amazing!
I would read Paradise Kiss first, then After School Nightmare, then Parasyte, then Antique Bakery. It pains me a little to rank Parasyte below anything, it’s probably the better series. But Paradise Kiss is an amazing read crammed into five volumes, and After School Nightmare is the type of thing you can’t put down.
I haven’t read Planetes myself. Maybe it’s secretly the best of all of them.
I actually got Planetes for really cheap on Bookcloseouts, so if you were interested, that’s where I’d look.
Thanks for the rankings. I’ve actually been keeping a weighted average and with your votes, the rankings are as follows:
1. Planetes
1. After School Nightmare
3. Paradise Kiss
3. Antique Bakery
5. Parasyte
It’s really, really close! I’ll probably just end up tackling them all and in that order.
I recall reading somewhere that you had all of From Eroica with Love. I also happen to recall that you have all of From Far Away, of which I’ve read some volumes. From Far Away is good, but it’s not in the same league as the titles you listed.
Now I have to think of an awesome manga that you don’t own … how about Area 88?
Good memory! I do indeed have all of From Far Away. You’ve stumped me on Area 88, though; that’s one I don’t have. Was there only ever one volume released by VIZ? That’s too bad; it looks pretty interesting.
If you include all of the Area 88 which was published in English but not in book format, it’s more like 7 volumes. It’s still too bad. It has the same basic plot as the Odyssey, but instead of ships on the Aegean sea, it’s warplanes over North Africa.
But that was too easy, because it’s been out of print for so long. How about … Air Gear (note: I have not read it myself yet, but someone whose opinion I value absolutely loves it).
I own absolutely no Air Gear. 🙂
I liked both Paradise Kiss and Antique Bakery, and they’re both really quick reads (you could easily read each series in a day).
Unless you’re a slowpoke like me. 🙂 But I’m sure even I could manage them in a weekend, at least. Thanks for the reply!
Both of them are light on text, though, so I think even if you took it slow, they’d go fast!
By the way, is nested comments something that is only available with certain styles? I really want them on my blogs, but can’t for the life of me figure out how to get them. In the options, I see a place where it allows you to set how far in they can nest, but nowhere to actually turn them on, and none of the styles I’m using show the comments nested.
I think it’s a plugin (Melinda did my site design) called WordPress Thread Comment that lets it happen.
Cool, thanks. I’ll look into that. I know at first it was a plugin, but I thought they’d made it part of WP itself, but if it is, I can’t find where.